What is the earliest "Stereo" record, LP or 45 you own?

Robert Schumann Symphony No. 3 in E-Flat Major, Op. 97 "Rhenish"
Detroit Symphony Orchestra
Paul Paray, Conductor
Mecury Living Presence
1958
 
Are you sure about that? Look at the top of the cover... fake stereo.

The first true stereo Stones LP was "Aftermath" (although some earlier stuff was remixed in creampuff true stereo for CD release).

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Perhaps your system could be tweaked a bit. Sorry for your luck...
 
A&M and Atlantic dallied with issuing mono/stereo-compatible records using the Haeco-CSG System during '68-'69, and those records sound lousy in either mono or stereo playback!
And on some of those recordings, the Haeco-CSG encoding has persisted to this very day, even on the current CD and online download versions. Luckily the encoding can be removed by using an audio editor to apply a 90 degree phase shift to the right channel. Now you can finally hear Cream's "White Room" without the blurred, "half-out-of-phase" vocals:


One strange thing is that I have an MP3 of Steely Dan's "Rikki Don't Lose That Number" that is Haeco-CSG encoded, even though the system had been abandoned long before then (1974) and I've never heard it with the encoding anywhere else. That belongs in the oddities bin along with the 1977 Beach Boys "Love You" album that was Dynaquad quadraphonic encoded even though Dynaquad was a flop in the marketplace, and quad itself was almost entirely defunct by then!
 
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Robert Schumann Symphony No. 3 in E-Flat Major, Op. 97 "Rhenish"
Detroit Symphony Orchestra
Paul Paray, Conductor
Mecury Living Presence
1958

I bet that sounds spectacularly good! I'm not a big classical guy, but '50's Mecury Living Presence LPs are very highly regarded for their sonics.

Perhaps your system could be tweaked a bit. Sorry for your luck...

What's wrong with my system?
:wtf:
 
They all probably say "stereo" on the label, as a default... but they used the correct mono masters (unless there are some fake stereo releases that I'm not aware of).
I stand corrected, the only reference to stereo is on the labels. I thought I had read "re-channeled" on the jackets but looking through them I don't see that. Furthermore, I thought they were mastered by someone at Fantasy but in fact I see they were remastered by Rudy Van Gelder, and of course he would not want let alone do rechanneling.

I imagine they are cut as stereo records and labeled as such to prevent early '70s confusion about stereo/mono cartridge compatibility, but from a mono master tape.

No wonder they sound good!!
 
I stand corrected, the only reference to stereo is on the labels. I thought I had read "re-channeled" on the jackets but looking through them I don't see that. Furthermore, I thought they were mastered by someone at Fantasy but in fact I see they were remastered by Rudy Van Gelder, and of course he would not want let alone do rechanneling.

I imagine they are cut as stereo records and labeled as such to prevent early '70s confusion about stereo/mono cartridge compatibility, but from a mono master tape.

No wonder they sound good!!

You are correct, by the '70s all of the labels had pretty much junked their "old fashioned" mono lathes and playback decks, and any reissues of mono material was cut using stereo playback heads and lathes. This isn't a problem usually, unless the cutting engineer was lazy about aligning the heads. For this reason, I usually just play my stereo-cut mono records in stereo mode.

Those '70s Fantasy/Milestone/Riverside/Prestige jazz 2-fers are a terrific bargain. They almost always sound great, and they're still dirt cheap!
 
Chet Atkins Hollywood 1958
Chet Atkins At Home 1957. I can't tell without looking closer at the album it it's actually stereo or not.

I know I have some other early Living Stereo albums but can't think of them off hand.
 
The oldest in my collection that I can verify is Dave Brubeck's TIME OUT lp in stereo. Also have one in glorious mono.
 
Just played this LP and it is as good as the day it was produced, no pops or any unwanted noise, absolutely fantastic would put to shame a lot of todays re-issues.
Date is 1958 stereo, came with a batch (suitcase full of big band, jazz records that where kept in a loft for over 40 years and never played or opened) from e-bay.
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"Railroad Sounds Steam and Diesel. The Sounds of a Vanishing Era". Audio Fidelity Stereodisc AFSD 5843.
When I was young, in the early 60's, we had a neighbor who was insistent that my Dad and I hear this train record. I t had a few steam whistles and then a train slowly rolls from the left channel to the right channel. He was all excited, my Dad and I were just kinda' puzzled.
 
When I was young, in the early 60's, we had a neighbor who was insistent that my Dad and I hear this train record. I t had a few steam whistles and then a train slowly rolls from the left channel to the right channel. He was all excited, my Dad and I were just kinda' puzzled.

Well, I can understand. Not everyone loves steam trains or listening to sound effects. It certainly isn't a record that I would want to listen to often but hearing it every couple of years or so brings me some joy by reminding me of the magnificent sound of steam locomotives, completely unlike any other thing. The quality of the recording is really quite remarkable. It is important to me today primarily because of its historical value, being the first of its kind.
 
My very first record, that I bought with my own money: The 45 of Hugh Masekela - Grazing in the Grass.
1968. I was 14. Still love that song. I may even still have the 45.

That is an excellent record. I love it too. I don't think the 45 is stereophonic, though, is it? :idea:
 
The oldest I have is A Journey Into Stereo Sound, London PS 100 from 1958
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The oldest by any artist is Come Dance With Me, by Frank Sinatra Capitol SW 1069 recorded December 1958, and Released January 1959
There may be something older in the stacks, but Sinatra seemed a logical choice. They typically didn't sit on Sinatra records before releasing.

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